SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH celebrated his 93 birthday recently.

I first saw him on our black and white telly more than 50 years ago when he and a television crew were on the island of Borneo trying to film the Dyak tribe who had been headhunters.

Sir David and the crew were treated like gods. Tribal chiefs came from far and wide for a massive feast in the jungle to meet him, and I remember the ladies of the village chewed up something I thinkg was called manaok.

They spat out the chewed contents of their mouths into a dugout canoe filled with water and the yeast from their teeth and the warmth of the jungle caused the manaok to ferment and produce an alcoholic ‘soup’ which they all drank.

I remember being amazed at this and thinking “this guy will go far”.

I was not wrong.

His energy levels today for a golden oldie are brilliant. Sir David and the wonderful Prof David Bellamy, who is still with us in County Durham, produced some brilliant TV.

Malcolm Rolling, Durham